STORRS, Conn. -- Florida Coach Mike White says the early part of this season has been a lot of trial and error as his young players try to find some answers on offense.
They did not have many on Sunday.
Christian Vital scored 15 points and made a key steal at the end of the game as UConn upset the No. 15 Gators 62-59.
Tyler Polley also scored 15 points and Josh Carlton added 13 for the Huskies (2-1) who led by five points at halftime and never trailed after intermission.
"Anytime you play on the road, you're dealing with the stage and 10,000 (fans) screaming at you and you've got to step up with poise and confidence and mental toughness and make a shot at this level," White said. "As a staff we've got to do a better job of finding a way to get these guys going, continue to go through that trial-and-error process."
Keyontae Johnson's layup with just over a minute to go cut UConn's lead to 60-59, but those would be the last points the Gators scored.
Florida had a chance to tie after Vital hit two free throws with 17 seconds left. But Alterique Gilbert tipped a pass from Johnson and Vital grabbed it and dribbled away, securing the win.
"A think a year ago, we would have folded, easily," said Gilbert. "These are the games you come to UConn to play and I think we have a great group of guys now who just want to win."
Kerry Blackshear Jr. had 15 points and eight rebounds for Florida (2-2). But he fouled out with 4:37 left in the game and his team trailing 53-49. Andrew Nembhard added 14 points, including a three-pointer that brought the Gators within a point at 54-53.
Blackshear scored the game's first two baskets, but the Gators made just four of their first 13 attempts from the floor.
In other games involving Top 25 teams, Jordan Nwora scored 17 points and No. 4 Louisville routed visiting North Carolina Central, 87-58. Nwora needed only 21 minutes to do his damage as Coach Chris Mack had a chance to play 11 players in the blowout. Steven Enoch made 7-of-9 shots to add 15 points. Dwayne Sutton scored 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting, and Darius Perry was perfect on four shots for 10 points and seven assists. Randy Miller Jr. led the Eagles (1-3) with 15 points. ... Myles Powell scored 26 points and Sandro Mamukelashvili added 17 in No. 12 Seton Hall's victory over host Saint Louis. Quincy McKnight added 12 points to help the Pirates (3-1) rebound from a 76-73 loss to No.3 Michigan State. Hasahn French led Saint Louis with 14 points and 10 rebounds. ... Payton Pritchard scored 24 points to lead No. 14 Oregon to a ragged 67-47 victory over Texas Arlington in Eugene, Ore. The senior guard also led the Ducks (4-0) with eight rebounds and three assists. Jordan Phillips led the Mavericks (2-2) with 14 points. They shot 23.4% from the field. ... Jordan Ford scored 21 points, Malik Fitts added 12 and No. 18 St. Mary's beat Cal Poly 79-48 in Moraga, Calif. Saint Mary's (3-1) extended its winning streak over the Mustangs to six games. They Gaels haven't lost to Cal Poly since Nov. 26, 2006. Tuukka Jaakkola scored 13 points to lead Cal Poly (1-3), which faded after opening the game with an 8-0 run. ... Zeke Nnaji did not miss a shot for the second consecutive game while scoring 19 points, Jemarl Baker added 16 points and No. 19 Arizona rolled over depleted New Mexico State, 83-53, in Tucson, Ariz. Arizona (4-0) took advantage of the short-handed Aggies (2-2) from the start, scoring the first 10 points and using another big run to lead by 22 at halftime. Nnaji made all seven of his shots after going 8 for 8 against San Jose State and is 32 for 38 in four games this season. The 6-foot-11 freshman has made 17 consecutive shots, dating to the second half a week ago against Illinois.
Sports on 11/18/2019